


Autumn Leaves Trilogy: Abridged

by Notorious_PAT



Series: Autumn Leaves Trilogy [1]
Category: Digimon Tamers
Genre: Adventure & Romance, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon-Typical Violence, Drabble Sequence, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff and Angst, Minor Character Death, Minor Violence, Non-Graphic Violence, References to Depression, Sequel, War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-25
Updated: 2020-10-25
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:54:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27195412
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Notorious_PAT/pseuds/Notorious_PAT
Summary: This is an abridged version of my two previous works in the Rukato world, my own "Autumn Leaves" trilogy, ahead of the release of my third and final piece, "Autumn Ends." An explanation of the first two works so you'll be able to just jump into that final arc.
Relationships: Makino Ruki | Rika Nonaka/Matsuda Takato | Takato Matsuki
Series: Autumn Leaves Trilogy [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1985266
Comments: 1
Kudos: 2





	1. Autumn Leaves

**Author's Note:**

> Fourteen years ago I wrote "Autumn Leaves" in a few months span and immediately followed it up with "Promise." Except "Promise" took me 6 years to write 24 chapters and then I never posted the final chapter until 2020. Now I am releasing "Autumn Ends." My writing ability in 2020 is much different (and hopefully better lol) than in 2006. "Autumn Leaves" is so bad and heavily influenced by the movie /Garden State/. "Promise" is similarly terrible but the later chapters start to show potential. I wanted to make it possible for people to jump right into "Autumn Ends" without having to comb through 180K+ words of drivel from 2006-2012. So if you're just joining us (or you did read and forgot some things) and want an interesting Rukato to jump into, just check out my notes below. If you want the full experience, I wish you good fortune and godspeed as you read through 15 year old me's writing. Here we go!

**Autumn Leaves**

What to know from _Autumn Leaves_ (9 chapters, 41K+ words):

  * Set a few months after the events of the series
  * While this story splits between Takato and Rika, it is definitely more centered on Rika's perspective & emotions
  * Takato asks Jeri to date him, she sees them as "just friends" and thus says no
  * Takato loses it, runs through the park in a rainstorm. Rika happenstance pulls him out of the rain
  * They reconnect after drifting apart in the months after the D Reaper
  * It's a whole lot of cuteness and falling in love and such
  * They both encounter some struggles (Rika is bullied, Takato is mugged lmao what?!) which brings them closer together
  * Takato takes Rika to his secret spot in the park, an isolated pond. It's adorable and some of the best writing in this story
  * They start dating. Yay!
  * The story ends with Takato showing Rika and Henry the portal to the digital world that we saw in the final scenes from the original Tamers series. This sets us up for an adventure-packed sequel
  * Story ends during winter time, in the snow




	2. Promise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The bloated sequel to "Autumn Leaves," "Promise" takes our favorite Tamers back to the Digital World. They return to a world that they don't even recognize anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fourteen years ago I wrote "Autumn Leaves" in a few months span and immediately followed it up with "Promise." Except "Promise" took me 6 years to write 24 chapters and then I never posted the final chapter until 2020. Now I am releasing "Autumn Ends." My writing ability in 2020 is much different (and hopefully better lol) than in 2006. "Autumn Leaves" is so bad and heavily influenced by the movie /Garden State/. "Promise" is similarly terrible but the later chapters start to show potential. I wanted to make it possible for people to jump right into "Autumn Ends" without having to comb through 180K+ words of drivel from 2006-2012. So if you're just joining us (or you did read and forgot some things) and want an interesting Rukato to jump into, just check out my notes below. If you want the full experience, I wish you good fortune and godspeed as you read through 15 year old me's writing. Here we go!

**Promise**

What to know from  _ Promise _ (25 Chapters, 143K+ words):

  * We pick back up on the last day of 8th grade, in May. Takato, Rika, and Henry have decided to travel back to the digital world with their friends as a "summer vacation"
  * Whereas Rika's perspective was the focus of _Autumn Leaves_ , Takato is basically the only perspective you'll find in _Promise_
  * The kids rope Yamaki and Hypnos back into the fold for their return trip
  * Henry lies to his Dad to convince him to let them go back by saying that the portal is open because "the Digital World needs a hero"
  * Takato says "I love you" and it's wonderful. I almost cried rereading my own writing from 14 years later
  * Ryo is still interested in Rika, and thus him and Takato feud a bunch
  * Takato gets sent to the digital world before everyone else because Suzy pushes him into the portal--this has a cataclysmic domino effect on the rest of the story as he is separated from the group
  * We learn immediately that a new evil has risen to power, called The Darkness (super creative naming on my behalf, I know)
    * The Darkness is an evolution of the D Reaper. It took all the sadness it learned from Jeri and traveled to the Dark Ocean World (from the original Adventure and 02 series). From there, it adopts Takato as it's new host and latches on to all of his negative emotions spanning from the defeat of the D Reaper until present
  * Takato is separated from the group because he went through first. When he arrives, he unwittingly tells The Darkness' minions that the others are coming
  * The Darkness springs a trap, sending the others to the Dark Ocean World first. When they arrive, it takes Rika, Henry, and Ryo hostage. The Dark Ocean World is not a tool though, so it effectively ejects the Darkness out after this. Kazu, Jeri, Kenta, and Suzy are all safe from The Darkness' control
  * Rika, Henry, and Ryo are all prisoners in their own bodies and no longer have control of themselves
  * Rika "breaks up" with Takato, then leaves the group with Ryo and Henry
  * Takato and the rest of his gang reunite with Impmon and Guilmon
  * A bunch of fighting and war stuff happens
  * Kazu and Guardromon Biomerge Digivolve to HiAndromon and this turns the tide of several fights
  * When Takato passes out or goes to sleep, Rika is able to enter his dreams and talk to him. She only has enough strength to do this twice though
  * The Darkness finally reveals itself, it's image is that of Takato, all black & greyed out, as if he were a Black-version-digimon
  * The Darkness has the power to de-digivolve Takato and company at will. It has other powers over them that they don't understand. They survive this fight solely because of quick thinking by Beelzemon
  * Rika can't come to Takato's dreams anymore so Ryo and Henry do instead. It's beautiful writing, if I do say so myself. Takato and Ryo mend the bridge and become good friends. They warn him about another trap The Darkness has laid
  * Kuzuhamon, ChaosJustimon, BlackMegaGargomon, and a BlackWarGreymon all fight and fall to Gallantmon, Beelzemon, and HiAndromon at various times
  * The Darkness arrives again and this time won't be stopped. He kills Rika and Guardromon and mortally wounds Impmon, all very easily. He dedigivolves Gallantmon and is on the verge of killing Takato.
  * Kazu steps in the way and tries to take the force of the blow. Instead this act of selflessness damages The Darkness. The Darkness turns Kazu to stone in return
  * As Impmon is disappearing he and Takato promise to meet again
  * Takato tries to go to sleep and seek counsel from Rika, Henry, or Ryo. Jeri gives him a pep talk about how she does not regret rejecting him because it led Takato to Rika
  * Takato sleeps and in his dream he meets Kazu at the gates to heaven. Kazu explains the secret to defeating The Darkness is to not fight with anger, but with love
  * Takato uses 'the Lightness' and goes to fight The Darkness on his own. He uses positive emotions and memories to conjure all the same powers as The Darkness and overwhelms him
    * In all other instances, Takato was using the rage within to fight. When he would do this, The Darkness could control his body like a puppet. Once he uses the kindness in his heart, he controls The Darkness instead 
  * Takato defeats The Darkness and liberates the Digital World
  * He is reunited with Rika, Henry, and Ryo, and it is good.
  * Impmon, Guardromon, and all others killed will be reborn through the digieggs
  * Kazu is still a stone statue and the group is crushed to learn he can not be saved
  * The Digimon Sovereign show up and tell the kids that the Digital World is much more complex than they knew
  * Azulongmon calls them "the digidestined" and everyone loved this, but this doesn't sit right with Takato
  * Yamaki sends an ark to retrieve them, but time is out of sync. Weeks, if not months, have gone by in the digital world. In the real world, it's only been a few days
  * As Takato gets on the ark, he feels a brush of wind as something slips on board, unbeknownst to the children
  * The children arrive back in the real world and Takato weeps into the arms of Kazu's mother, as the gravity of his death sets in for all
  * Weeks later, Rika is reflecting on their adventures and Takato's depression over it. She wonders how much longer her friends can stare into the abyss before they can't recover the parts of themselves they've lost along the way
  * The story ends ominously as The Darkness unleashes a failsafe.



**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first time using AO3, so apologize for any mishaps or confusion I may have caused. Anyway, that's the abridged version of what happened in "Promise." You can find the full story on my FF page, but I don't recommend it. I won't repost it on AO3 because it's just so much cringe. Thanks for being here for my fic writing renaissance. "Autumn Ends" and the dramatic conclusion to my Autumn Leaves Trilogy drops first on 11/1/20. Updates will come three times a week, on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays!

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time using AO3, so apologize for any mishaps or confusion I may have caused. Anyway, that's the abridged version of what happened in "Autumn Leaves." You can find the full story on FF, but I don't recommend it. I won't repost it on AO3 because it's just so much cringe. Next is "Promise," where *a lot* more stuff happens.


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